Neediest Families: Holidays on hold for single mom, 6 children

View full sizeMedical bills are among the needs of the Turner family. Pictured Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, at their home in Citronelle, Alabama, are, front row, from left, McKenzie Manuel, 7, Kedra Turner, Alliyah Manuel, 5, and Archie Manuel, 5; and, back row, from left, Christopher Turner, 17, Richard Lucious, 12, and Kendarius Lucious, 16. The Neediest Families Campaign, held in conjunction with the Salvation Army, provides extra help to area families with extraordinary needs during the holiday season. (Press-Register/Victor Calhoun)

CITRONELLE, Alabama -- Before her children can hand in wish lists and think about the coming Christmas season, Kedra Turner and her 7-year-old daughter, McKenzie, face a critical visit with the doctor Thursday.

“That’s the day we are going to find out if McKenzie is going to need surgery again,” Turner said.

Until then, the rest of the holidays remain on hold for Turner, a single mother of six who lives on South Pleasant Circle, a public housing community just south of Citronelle.

The Turner household is one of dozens in the area that will receive help from the Press-Register’s 2011 Neediest Families Campaign. The effort assists hard-pressed families during the holidays and throughout the year, seeking to put them back on their feet by addressing urgent needs such as transportation, utilities and medical bills.

McKenzie already has had three surgeries to treat rickets disease, her mother said.

Rickets develops when growing bones in children fail to mineralize, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. It most frequently develops as a result of a deficiency in vitamin D, according to the AAFP.

In the case of McKenzie, a second-grader at nearby McDavid-Smith Elementary School, the disease is most obvious in the sharp inward bend of her right leg at the knee.

Facts about the Press-Register’s Neediest Families Campaign

The holiday season campaign has raised almost $2.5 million since its inception in 1996. The amount last year was $225,088.99.

Families are screened and selected by The Salvation Army to receive help.

Donors of $50 or more are named on the newspaper’s front page, unless they request anonymity.

To donate: Send a check or money order made out to The Salvation Army Neediest Families, 1009 Dauphin St., Mobile, AL 36604. For more information, call 251-438-1625.

But she has plenty of support in her family, not only from her mom but from the five other children, all described by their mom as normal, healthy kids.

There is 17-year-old Christopher, currently enrolled in a Job Corps auto mechanic program. Kendarius, 16, is a sophomore at Citronelle High School, while 12-year-old Richard is a sixth-grader at Lott Middle School.

The youngest of the Turner family, 5-year-old twins Alliyah and Archie, attend kindergarten at McDavid-Smith.

“I can read for you if you want,” Alliyah was quick to say.

The family gets by on Turner’s income from a daytime job at the Church’s Fried Chicken outlet in Citronelle. Turner said she works an average of 25 hours a week at Church’s, and is appreciative of the chance to keep working.

“It’s very hard to find a job in this area. You have to travel to Mobile to get good work,” she said.

She said that she receives some Supplemental Security Income disability payments on behalf of McKenzie, although medical bills consume much of that income.

Food bills alone for a family of six children can quickly bite into the paycheck, she said. “Believe me, they can eat,” she said of her children.

The family resides in a relatively new housing community of single-story brick homes, and Turner said the amount of her rent is tied in to her income. She’s grateful the home is modern and has dependable heat and cooling, she said.

And she’s also grateful for any and all help that comes from outside the community for her and her neighbors.

“Just a few days ago the Salvation Army was out here, cutting lawns and cleaning things up,” she said.

When pressed for an idea of what the children might want, there weren’t a lot of specific answers. One child mentioned a bicycle, while Archie pointed to a pair of deck shoes worn by one of the adults in the room and said, “I want shoes like that.”

But each of the younger children clutched a stocking with a name on it. And all realized the same thing -- that before Santa, the tree and the Christmas dinner, there remained that all-important trip to the clinic in Mobile Thursday to determine the next step to take on behalf of McKenzie.